Some cancer rates very high in Nevada

Thursday, Jan. 2, 2003 | 11:17 a.m.

The likelihood of dying from several types of smoking-related cancers was greater in Nevada than the national average in 2000, according to statistics that are to be part of a national study to be released in the coming year.

Nevada was one of 13 states not included in the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's first report on state cancer rates last month because the numbers from those states lacked some of the criteria required by the CDC. The report used information about cancer deaths that occurred in 1999.

Nevada will be part of next year's report, however, and when Nevada's 2000 numbers are compared to the nation's 1999 numbers, the state's rate for a few types of cancer is high -- particularly the cancers that are commonly linked to smoking, health officials said this week.

In Nevada, where nearly a third of the adult population smokes, there were about 63 throat, windpipe or lung cancer deaths for every 100,000 people living in the state in 2000, according to the Nevada State Health Division. That compares with about 57 deaths for the same types of cancers for every 100,000 people nationwide.

"It's an obvious direct relationship between smoking and cancer, and we've known that for the past 50 years," said Dr. John Ellerton, an oncologist and chief of staff at University Medical Center. "Lots of people and organizations have tried to get the message out, but the reality is nicotine is highly addictive and once a person starts to smoke it's extremely difficult to stop."

However, because Nevada did better among the less prevalent specified cancers than the national average, it wound up just slightly higher than the national average in total cancer deaths per 100,000 in 2000 -- 204.51 to 201.

Health officials said the comparison between the 1999 national numbers and the 2000 Nevada numbers are a good comparison because of health trends and the size of the state.

"Because Nevada is so small -- less than 1 percent of the total population -- it will do little or nothing to the overall national figures," state biostatistician Wei Yang said from Carson City.

Yang said Nevada's per capita rate for some "preventable cancers" stands out among the statistics.

"This has more to do with behavioral risks and environmental factors that play an important role," Yang said. "Since 1992 we have been among the top three states per capita for smokers at 28 to 30 percent, compared to the national average of 22 to 24 percent.

"We have been the leader among women smokers at 28 percent for some time."

Between 40 and 60 percent of all cancers can be tied to smoking or second-hand smoke, Ellerton said. Nevada has seen increases in incidences of breast and prostate cancer -- neither or which has been linked to smoking -- but that is likely attributable to the state's increase in older residents, Ellerton said. The state is below the national average for deaths from breast and prostate cancers.

Nevada recorded a few more colon and related cancer deaths and a couple more deaths from unspecified cancers for every 100,0000 people than the nation did as a whole in 2000, officials said.

Nicole Bungum, coordinator of the Clark County Health District's tobacco control program, said that poor health habits play a role in the death rates.

"Tobacco is a really serious problem here," she said. "We have the second-highest prevalence, (behind) only Kentucky, and we have the fewest smoke-free workplaces (per capita) in the nation.

"So even if you don't smoke, you are affected by secondhand smoke. Our program focuses on education to help people avoid secondhand smoke and encouraging more workplaces to go smoke-free."

Bungum said the health district's anti-tobacco program also is focusing on the growing number of 18- to 24-year-old smokers by going to local college and university campuses, and on the Hispanic community, where a recent county study found that the prevalence of Hispanic smokers mirrors the statewide trends.

"I am not surprised by the state figures," Bungum said. "Until we do more to protect people in this state the statistics on smoking-related cancer deaths will be high."

The Nevada Health Division, Yang said, is conducting a detailed report on cancer in Nevada that is due out in the middle of the year.

"What we have now is some of the most reliable data we have ever had," Yang said. "It will help us with our report, where we will look at trends over the years, not just one year's statistics."

Nevada has adjusted its statistics-gathering methods, and its new reporting standards are expected to be approved by the CDC for next year's study, possibly by March, Yang said.

Sun reporter

Emily Richmond contributed to this story.